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Aquaculture

ANTARCTIC KRILL IS A SUSTAINABLE SOURCE OF AQUACULTURE FEED

ANTARCTIC KRILL IS A SUSTAINABLE SOURCE

Antarctic krill is a sustainable source of aquaculture feed new sustainability report concludes. Aquaculture feed ingredients from Aker BioMarine are green and sustainable, concludes a leading independent sustainability evaluator, CICERO Shades of Green.

According to the report, the main reason why aquaculture incomes are classified as medium green – and sustainable – is that krill replaces other sources of feed, such as soy and fishmeal that have a higher CO2-footprint. Krill contributes to lowering the CO2 emissions in the value chain and is a source of sustainable feed for fish and seafood farming companies. This is important because the carbon emissions of farmed salmon mostly come from the production of feed.

Sustainable aquaculture feed

CICERO Shades of Green, a leading and independent environmental assessment provider of green and sustainability bond frameworks conducted a research-based report on Aker BioMarine´s governance, revenue streams and investments. The report concludes that “Antarctic krill is a source of sustainable aquaculture feed with positive climate contribution potential”.

The fact that Aker BioMarine has a high sustainability standard when it comes to krill harvesting in Antarctica and that the company has a clear strategy for making the vessels that catch krill more sustainable were also contributing factors for CICERO when giving the «medium green» classification for the aquaculture revenues.

“CICERO Shades of Green is impressed by Aker BioMarine’s proactive approach to climate change issues – both in terms of mitigating negative effects and capitalising on opportunities. This is exhibited by their recent investments in new and energy-efficient vessels that help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and their establishment of a circular economy company,” says Harald Francke Lund, CEO of CICERO Shades of Green.

Aker BioMarine’s vessels Antarctic Endurance and Antarctic Provider are more energy-efficient than the older vessels and therefore emit less CO2 per unit produced.

Making aquaculture more sustainable

“Aker BioMarine wants to contribute to the aquaculture industry by helping our customers make more responsible choices and be in the forefront of the sustainability agenda in our industry,” says Sigve Nordrum, EVP Animal Health and Nutrition at Aker BioMarine.

In the last ten years, Aker BioMarine has halved its CO2 emissions per ton krill produced. The ambition is to half this again within the next 10 years. The company has laid out key performance indicators on how the 2030 targets will be reached. Within the aquaculture segment, Aker BioMarine:

  • Will make aquaculture more efficient by contributing to 1 billion extra servings of seafood produced annually.
  • Actively engages with stakeholders and research efforts on conservation and the sustainable management of Antarctica’s resources, and has obtained certifications for relevant products.
  • Uses Eco-Harvesting technology that brings live krill on board the vessels and prevents the unnecessary by-catch such as birds and sea mammals.
  • Aker BioMarine’s newest krill harvesting vessel is purpose-built and the company has estimated it to be 30 percent more energy efficient than comparable harvesting vessels.
  • In 2020 Aker BioMarine joined an industry collaboration platform called Råvareløftet, to reduce the carbon footprint of Norwegian salmon. The purpose of Råvareløftet is to accelerate the phasing in of new and sustainable raw materials for fish feed in order to enable increased production of seafood while reducing the overall climate and environmental footprint of the aquaculture industry.

Read the full Aker BioMarine company assessment HERE.

About Aker BioMarine

Aker BioMarine is a biotech innovator and Antarctic krill-harvesting company, dedicated to improving human and planetary health. Listed on Oslo  Stock Exchange, the company develops krill-based ingredients for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical (Superba®, NKO® and K·REAL®), aquaculture (QRILL™ Aqua), and animal feed applications (QRILL™ Pet), including INVI™, a highly concentrated protein isolate, and LYSOVETA™, a targeted transporter of EPA and DHA from krill. Aker BioMarine’s fully transparent value chain stretches from sustainable krill harvesting in pristine Antarctic waters through its Montevideo logistics hub, Houston production plant, and to customers around the world. The company’s strong focus on sustainability inspired the launch of AION by Aker BioMarine, a circularity company dedicated to helping companies to recycle and reuse waste. Read more: www.akerbiomarine.com

About Cicero Shades of Green

CICERO Shades of Green is a leading provider of Second Opinions on green bond frameworks. Our second opinions are built on renowned climate research, drawing on competence from CICERO Center for International Climate Research, one of the world’s foremost institutes for interdisciplinary climate research. Our researchers and experts have been providing second opinions to issuers worldwide since 2008.

 

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